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Dr Haslam, who is a GP in Hertfordshire, said: ‘Sending letters to parents like this is a waste of time. It’s the duty of the healthcare professional, doctor or nurse, when they see a patient whose weight is putting their health at risk to seize the moment – children’s lives are at stake.’

The research comes as experts predict two out of three children could be
obese by 2050 if current trends continue. More than one in five is
obese at present – so fat it threatens their health.

In the study, researchers at Bristol University contacted 285 families with children aged between five and 16 who were obese. The data came from GP records which had noted the children’s Body Mass
Index (BMI) – the measure of weight and height which determines obesity –
in the last two years.

The families were all sent a letter telling them their child was significantly overweight and offering them the chance to see their GP about it.

Just 47 per cent of the parents consulted doctors and barely 15 per cent of those who took up the offer ended up with a record of their child’s weight in GP records, suggesting the issue had not been thoroughly investigated.

Just 47 per cent of the parents sent letters about their overweight children consulted doctors and barely 15 per cent of those who took up the offer ended up with a record of their child's weight in GP records

Just 25 fat children ended up in specialist clinics, according to the report in the British Journal of General Practice.

Researcher Dr Jonathan Banks, from
the university’s school of social and community medicine, said one in
two parents had rejected the opportunity to discuss their child’s weight
problems.

He said ‘Previous research has found
that parents of overweight children find it difficult to seek help from a
health professional and that many do not recognise overweight or
obesity in their children.

‘It might be expected that parents
who were unsure about how to deal with their child’s weight would be
prompted by the letter, but the very low take-up suggests resistance to
addressing the issue.’

Co-researcher Professor Julian
Shields, professor of paediatrics at the university who runs weight
management clinics, said GPs also seemed reluctant to deal with an often
embarrassing subject with their patients.

He said ‘It’s still a taboo area but things have got to change, this is one of the most pressing problems for our children.

‘But it’s difficult for GPs to say to
parents their child is fat and something needs to be done without
sounding rude, indifferent or blunt’ he added.

A scheme to measure fat children at school, and send warning letters to parents, attracted much criticism when it was launched in 2006, not least because many parents refused to give consent for their children to be screened. Heavier children were more likely to opt out.

Dr Haslam, who is a GP in Hertfordshire, said the latest research showed that better ways were necessary to motivate children and adults with weight problems into shedding the pounds.

He said ‘Sending letters to parents like this is a waste of time.

‘The problem is not lack of access to obese children and adults, it’s getting them engaged and motivated into losing weight and keeping it off in the long term.

‘It’s the duty of the healthcare professional, doctor or nurse, when they see a patient whose weight is putting their health at risk to seize the moment – children’s lives are at stake.

‘If a child comes into the surgery with a thorn in a finger, take out the thorn and then ask then what they’re doing about trying to lose weight and how can we help’ he added.